The City of Maroondah covers parts of the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne, including Croydon, Ringwood, Heathmont, Warranwood and parts of Kilsyth and Vermont.
The council had a population of 115,043 as of the 2021 census.
- Wards
- Incumbent councillors
- History
- Council control
- Candidate summary
- Assessment
- Voting trends by ward
Wards
The City of Maroondah is divided into nine single-member wards:
- Barngeong – in the north-east, covering Croydon North.
- Bungalook – in the south-east, covering parts of Bayswater North, Croydon, Croydon South and Kilsyth South.
- Jubilee – in the south-west, covering parts of Heathmont and Ringwood.
- McAlpin – in the north-west, covering parts of Croydon, Ringwood, Ringwood East and Ringwood North.
- Tarralla – in the south, covering parts of Bayswater North and Croydon South.
- Wicklow – in the east, covering parts of Croydon.
- Wombolano – in the south-west, covering parts of Heathmont and Ringwood East.
- Wonga – in the west, covering parts of Ringwood and Ringwood North.
- Yarrunga – in the north-west, covering Croydon Hills and Warranwood.
| Barngeong | Chris Jones (Independent)1 | Wicklow | Tasa Damante (Ind. Liberal) |
| Bungalook | Tony Dib (Ind. Labor) | Wombolano | Kylie Spears (Ind. Liberal) |
| Jubilee | Mike Symon (Ind. Labor) | Wonga | Linda Hancock (Ind. Liberal)2 |
| McAlpin | Suzanne Stojanovic (Ind) | Yarrunga | Rob Steane (Ind. Liberal) |
| Tarralla | Paul Macdonald (Ind) |
1Chris Jones replaced Marijke Graham following a by-election in 2023.
2Linda Hancock replaced Nora Lamont following a by-election in 2022.
History
The City of Maroondah was created in 1994, by a merger of the City of Croydon and the City of Ringwood.
Maroondah’s council was elected from seven single-member wards until 2008, when the council switched to three wards each electing three councillors. This system was replaced by nine single-member wards in 2020.
Council control
While the council has both Labor and Liberal members, it looks like the mayoral and deputy mayoral roles have been shared around.
Kylie Spears and Nora Lamont took on the leadership roles in 2020, followed by Mike Symon and Rob Steane in 2021 and Rob Steane and Tasa Damante in 2022.
Kylie Spears returned to the mayoralty in 2023, with Paul Macdonald as deputy.
Candidate summary
Sitting councillors Mike Symon is not running for re-election.
All 22 candidates are running without party endorsement.
Assessment
The council has a number of Labor and Liberal members but it doesn’t appear that there is a clear majority faction.
Voting trends by ward
In order to understand the relative political position of each ward, I have estimated the results of the 2022 federal election in each ward.
On a two-party-preferred basis, the Liberal Party won seven out of nine wards, peaking at Yarrunga at the northern end of the council. Labor won the Jubilee and Wombolano in the south-west of the council.
Candidates – Barngeong Ward
- Sebastian Moon
- Cr Chris Jones
Candidates – Bungalook Ward
- Peter Walne
- Cr Tony Dib
- Catherine Gordon
Candidates – Jubilee Ward
- Claire Rex
- Emily Brightside
- Caroline Nordio
Candidates – McAlpin Ward
- Cr Suzy Stojanovic
- Nathaniel Henderson
- Ryan Smith
Candidates – Tarralla Ward
- Cr Paul Macdonald
- Aaron Martini
Candidates – Wicklow Ward
- Cr Tasa Damante
- Daniella Heatherich
Candidates – Wombolano Ward
- Susan Burgess
- Cr Kylie Spears
Candidates – Wonga Ward
- Brendan Woods
- Cr Linda Hancock
Candidates – Yarrunga Ward
- Cr Rob Steane
- Michelle Radojkovic
- Andrew Schafer